Three killed, eight wounded in terror shooting on West Bank bus; IDF pursuing Palestinian shooters

Rachel Cohen, left, Aliza Reiss, Elad Yaakov Winkelstein

Yaniv Kubovich, Hagar Shezaf, Ido Efrati and Josh Breiner report in Haaretz on 6 January 2025:

Three people were killed and eight were wounded in a terror shooting attack on a bus and two cars near the West Bank settlement of Kedumim, emergency services reported on Monday.

The victims were named as 70-year-old Aliza Reiss and 73-year-old Rachel Cohen, residents of Kedumim, and 35-year-old Kibbutz Ein Hanatziv resident Elad Yaakov Winkelstein, a police investigator with the Ariel Police Department.

Security officials say that at least two attackers opened fire at Israeli cars and a bus, and then fled the scene.  The bus driver, a 63-year-old man, is critically wounded, two women in their 70s and 80s are moderately wounded and five others are in light condition. Six of the wounded were evacuated to Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, and two others were taken to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva.  Israeli soldiers are pursuing two suspected Palestinian shooters who opened fire at the Israeli vehicles in the Palestinian village of Al Funduq, located on Route 55, the main road settlers must pass through on their way to Kedumim, Shavei Shomron, and other destinations coming from the west.  The area is one of the few in the West Bank where there is no detour road, and therefore settlers have to pass through the village.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the attack, saying: “My wife and I send our deepest condolences to the families of the three victims of this terrible attack this morning, and I wish a full recovery to the wounded. We will reach the vile murderers and settle accounts with them and with everyone who assisted them. No one will escape.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich took to X shortly after the attack, saying that “Funduq, Nablus and Jenin must look like [Gaza’s] Jabalya.”  “The terror [attacks] in Judea and Samaria and the terror coming from the Gaza Strip is one and the same,” he said, adding that Israel should not trust the Palestinian Authority when considering its security needs.  He also called on Netanyahu to convene the Security Cabinet to discuss “changing the approach and effectively eradicating terrorism” in the West Bank.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also commented on the attack, saying that Israelis should realize that “there is no partner” and “remember that the Palestinian Authority sponsors terrorism and therefore all collaboration with it should be stopped.”  “Whoever works toward a cease-fire in Gaza will get a war in Judea and Samaria,” he added.

The head of the Samaria Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, said at the scene of the attack that Israel has to “fight [Palestinian President] Abu Mazen, who brings this terror upon us.”  “I say clearly to our barbaric enemies and to the whole world – we’ll never break!… Settlements will be built even more,” he added. He also called on the government and the IDF to “close all of the checkpoints now” and to “act with a heavy hand against terrorism.”

Yair Golan, the leader of the Democrats, responded that the “policy of Smotrich and his allies was what led to October 7,” and also led to attack like the one we witnessed today.  “The destruction of the Palestinian Authority, strengthening Hamas, and messianic annexation,” Golan continues, “this is the policy that serves terrorism.”

Cohen, an educational consultant until her retirement, leaves behind her husband and five daughters. Reiss, who also worked as an educational consultant, leaves behind her children and family. Winkelstein leaves behind his wife and two children.

The Emek HaMaayanot Regional Council described Winkelstein as “a devoted, kind-hearted, gentle and honest father. He loves people and believes in goodness.”

Cohen’s daughter, Naomi, said that her mother was “a woman full of joy, kindness and positive energy” and “an active and beloved grandmother and mother.” She added that “she had many plans ahead of her, she made sure to help a lot of people … she was there to listen to everyone without exception. And all out of love and optimism.”

Yair, Reiss’s son, said that her family was planning a surprise birthday party for her next week. He said, “She was a larger-than-life woman … Nothing stood in her way. She had willpower and tenacity that led her to do great things in every field.” He added that his mother was one of the founders of Kedumim, volunteered in the community’s security squad and continued to work as an educational consultant even after she retired.

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